Base assembly capable of reducing the number of assembling steps

ABSTRACT

In a base assembly including a base and a bracket mounted on the base, the base comprises at least two L-shaped hook receivers and at least one claw receiver. The bracket has at least two L-shaped hooks each having a shape corresponding to that of the hook receiver and at least one elastically deformable claw engageable with the claw receiver, When mounting the bracket on the base, positioning of the bracket is carried out by engagement of the hooks with the hook receivers. In addition, locking of the said bracket is carried out by engagement of the claw with the claw receiver.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese patent application No. 2008-047069, filed on Feb. 28, 2008, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to an apparatus having a base and a shelf or abracket mounted on the base (hereinafter this apparatus will be referredto as a “base assembly”), which is for use with main equipment for acommunication apparatus, or the like.

BACKGROUND ART

As a first related art of this type of base assembly, there is onehaving a base and a bracket, as a separate component, fixed to the baseusing screws, as will be described in detail later with reference to thedrawings. In this case, the number of assembling steps is large, thenumber of components is large, there is a disadvantage in terms ofdesign because the heads of the screws are visible from the outside, andfurther the cost increases.

A second related art is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility ModelApplication Publication (JP-U) No. Sho 57-48687, wherein attachingportions of an attaching component engage with coupling portions(insertion seats) of a mounting plate on both sides of the attachingcomponent and thus positioning of the attaching component in itsattaching direction cannot be carried out. Therefore, the structurebecomes large in size, which is inconvenient.

A third related art is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Publication (JP-A) No. Hei 02-271597, wherein a mountingplate has claws and a locking piece with a locking claw and a chassishas square holes, cutouts, and a locking hole. Thus, the structure iscomplicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an exemplary object of this invention to provide a baseassembly requiring a less number of assembling steps, having a simplestructure, and enabling a size reduction.

Other objects of the present invention will become clear as thedescription proceeds.

According to an exemplary embodiment of this invention, there isprovided a base assembly comprising a base and a bracket mounted on thebase, wherein the base comprises at least two L-shaped hook receiversand at least one claw receiver, the bracket comprises at least twoL-shaped hooks each having a shape corresponding to that of the hookreceiver and at least one elastically deformable claw engageable withthe claw receiver, and when mounting the bracket on the base,positioning of the bracket is carried out by engagement of the hookswith the hook receivers and locking of the bracket is carried out byengagement of the claw with the claw receiver.

An exemplary effect of this invention is that laborious fixing meanssuch as a screw is not required, the number of assembling steps issmall, and further the structure is simple.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating a base assembly according toan exemplary embodiment of this invention in a state before assemblingthereof;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view illustrating the base assembly in a stateafter assembling thereof;

FIG. 2A is a plan view of a base included in the base assembly of FIGS.1A and 1B;

FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along line 2 b-2 b in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a bracket included in the base assembly ofFIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 4A is a plan view of a state where the bracket is placed on thebase, but is not fixed thereto;

FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along line 4 b-4 b in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4C is an enlarged view of a portion 4 c in FIG. 4B;

FIG. 4D is an enlarged view of a portion 4 d in FIG. 4B;

FIG. 4E is an enlarged view of a portion 4 e in FIG. 4B;

FIG. 5A is a plan view of a state where the bracket is placed on thebase and fixed thereto;

FIG. 5B is a sectional view taken along line 5 b-5 b in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C is an enlarged view of a portion 5 c in FIG. 5B;

FIG. 5D is an enlarged view of a portion 5 d in FIG. 5B;

FIG. 5E is an enlarged view of a portion 5 e in FIG. 5B;

FIG. 6A is a perspective view illustrating one example of a baseassembly according to a related art in a state before assemblingthereof; and

FIG. 6B is a perspective view illustrating the related-art base assemblyin a state after assembling thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, description will be made as regards anoutline of a base assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of thisinvention.

The illustrated base assembly is for use with main equipment for acommunication apparatus and comprises a base 1 formed by molding asynthetic resin into a rectangular parallelepiped frame shape and abracket 11 mounted on the base 1. The base 1 comprises a pair ofvertical side walls or side plates 3 and 4 facing each other with apredetermined distance therebetween, a horizontal bottom wall or bottomplate 2 coupled between lower ends of the side plates 3 and 4, and avertical rear wall or rear plate 5 coupled between rear ends of the sideplates 3 and 4. A space between front ends of the side plates 3 and 4 isopen.

On the other hand, the bracket 11 is formed by molding a synthetic resinand comprises a main plate portion 11-1 in the form of a rectangularplate and an auxiliary plate portion 11-2 coupled to the main plateportion 11-1 on its one side. That is, the bracket 11 has a generallyT-shape in cross section. The bracket 11 is mounted on the base 1between the side walls 3 and 4 with its main plate portion 11-1perpendicular to the bottom plate 2.

When mounting the bracket 11 on the base 1, the bracket 11 is firstlowered in the vertical direction of arrows 21 in FIG. 1A until thelower end of the bracket 11 reaches an inner bottom surface of the base1, i.e. an upper surface of the bottom plate 2. Subsequently, thebracket 11 is moved rearward in the horizontal direction of arrows 21.Then, by means of an engaging structure described later, the bracket 11engages with the base 1 so as to be fixed thereto.

Hereinbelow, referring also to FIGS. 2A to 5E, the engaging structurewill be described in detail.

A direction from the right side to the left side of the bottom plate 2is given as an X-direction, a direction from the lower side to the upperside of the bottom plate 2 is given as a Y-direction, a direction fromthe front side to the rear side of the bottom plate 2 is given as aZ-direction, and a direction opposite to the Z-direction is given as a-Z-direction. Note that the base 1 is fixed to a housing of acommunication apparatus (not illustrated) in order to prevent movementthereof in any of the X-, Y-, Z-, and -Z-directions.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the bottom plate 2 of the base 1 isformed with a first hook receiver 2 a, a single claw receiver 2 c, and asecond hook receiver 2 b that are located on a straight line, i.e.aligned with each other, in this order from the front where the spacebetween the side plates 3 and 4 is open. The first hook receiver 2 a andthe second hook receiver 2 b are formed as illustrated in FIGS. 4E and4C, respectively. Specifically, the first and second hook receivers 2 aand 2 b are each formed into a shape equivalent to a shape obtained bycutting a portion of the bottom plate 2 to form a generally U-shapedslit and then bending an inner portion surrounded by the slit toward theinside of the base 1 so as to form it into an L-shape. As illustrated inFIG. 4D, the claw receiver 2 c is formed by opening a hole in the bottomplate 2.

Incidentally, necessary structures known in this art are provided at theother portions of the bottom plate 2 and on the inner sides of the sideplates 3 and 4 and the rear plate 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the bracket 11 is formed with a first hook 11a, a single elastically deformable claw 11 c, and a second hook 11 bthat are located on a straight line, i.e. aligned with each other, inthis order from the front at three portions of the bottom of the mainplate portion 11-1. The claw 11 c has a free end formed with aprojection 11 c 1 which is engageable with the hole, i.e. the clawreceiver 2 c, of the bottom plate 2.

The first hook 11 a and the second hook 11 b are formed as illustratedin FIG. 3 and FIGS. 4E and 4C. Specifically, the first and second hooks11 a and 11 b are each formed into a shape equivalent to a shapeobtained by projecting a portion of the main plate portion 11-1 downwardfrom the bottom and then bending it rearward into an L-shape. Asillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4D, the claw 11 c is formed elasticallydeformable and parallel to the bottom plate 2.

Incidentally, necessary structures known in this art are provided onboth left and right sides of the bracket 11.

FIGS. 4E, 4C, and 4D respectively illustrate the positions after thebracket 11 is lowered in the vertical direction of arrows 21 in FIG. 1Auntil the lower end of the bracket 11 reaches the inner bottom surfaceof the base 1. At these positions, the first hook receiver 2 a and thefirst hook 11 a face each other, the second hook receiver 2 b and thesecond hook 11 b face each other, and the claw 11 c does not yet engagewith the claw receiver 2 c.

FIGS. 5E, 5C, and 5D respectively illustrate the positions after thebracket 11 is moved rearward in the horizontal direction of arrows 21 inFIG. 1A. At these positions, the first hook receiver 2 a and the firsthook 11 a abut against each other, the second hook receiver 2 b and thesecond hook 11 b abut against each other, and the projection 11 c 1 ofthe claw 11 c engages with the claw receiver 2 c because of an elasticrestoring force of the claw 11 c. Thus, the bracket 11 is fixedlymounted on the base 1. In this case, positioning of the bracket 11 iscarried out by the engagement between the first hook 11 a and the firsthook receiver 2 a and the engagement between the second hook 11 b andthe second hook receiver 2 b and locking of the bracket 11 is carriedout by the engagement between the claw 11 c and the claw receiver 2 c.As a result, the bracket 11 is fixedly assembled to the base 1.

Since the first hook receiver 2 a and the first hook 11 a havesymmetrical shapes and the second hook receiver 2 b and the second hook11 b have symmetrical shapes, the bracket 11 is tightly mounted on thebase 1.

The engaging structure described above exhibits the following effects:

1. Since a base assembly comprises a base having at least two L-shapedhook receivers and at least one claw receiver and a bracket having atleast two L-shaped hooks each having a shape corresponding to that ofthe hook receiver and at least one elastically deformable clawengageable with the claw receiver, laborious fixing means such as ascrew is not required, the number of assembling steps is small, andfurther the structure is simple.

2. Since the claw receiver is formed between the hook receivers and theclaw is formed between the hooks, the bracket is stably fixed to thebase by a locking mechanism half the number of positioning mechanisms.

3. The hook receivers and the hooks are formed into symmetrical shapesand thus the bracket is brought into tight contact with the base whenmounting the bracket on the base. Therefore, the base assembly iscompact in structure.

4. Since the claw has a projection at its free end and the claw receiveris a hole, the structure is simple.

5. Since the hook receivers and the claw receiver are formed so as to belocated on a straight line and the hooks and the claw are formed so asto be located on a straight line, the manufacture is easy.

6. The base and the bracket are each easily manufactured from asynthetic resin and the cost is low.

In the base assembly described above, the claw and the claw receiver ina pair are arranged between the hooks and the hook receivers in twopairs. However, this arrangement order may be suitably changed indesign. The number of pairs of hooks and hook receivers and the numberof pairs of claws and claw receivers can be increased. The first hookreceiver 2 a, the single claw receiver 2 c, and the second hook receiver2 b in the base 1 may be formed at positions slightly offset from astraight line and, likewise, the first hook 11 a, the single claw 11 c,and the second hook 11 b in the bracket 11 may be formed at positionsslightly offset from a straight line. Further, the base assembly isapplicable not only to the main equipment for the communicationapparatus, but also to other apparatuses, for example, the whole rangeof household electrical apparatuses.

Now, referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the description will be directed tothe first related art mentioned in the column of “Background Art”.

FIG. 6A illustrates a state before fixing a bracket 31 to a base 21using three screws 41. The base 21 has a rectangular parallelepipedframe structure. As illustrated in FIG. 6B, a bottom plate 22 of thebase 21 is formed with a three screw holes 22 a. To this bottom plate22, the bracket 31 is fixed by the three screws 41. The bracket 31 is inthe form of a rectangular plate and has female threaded portions 31 afor the screws 41 at three portions of the bottom. Known necessarystructures are formed on both left and right sides of the bracket 31.

When fixing the bracket 31 to the base 21, the bracket 31 is first moveddownward in an arrow direction by operator's fingers in FIG. 6A, therebypositioning the three female threaded portions 31 a of the bracket 31 inregistry with the corresponding screw holes 22 a of the bottom plate 22as illustrated in FIG. 6B. Then, the three screws 41 are screwed intothe corresponding female threaded portions 31 a of the bracket 31through the corresponding screw holes 22 a from the back side of thebottom plate 22. Thereupon, the bracket 31 is fixed to the base 21.

However, with the structure illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the numberof assembling steps is large, the number of components is large, thereis a disadvantage in terms of design because the heads of the screws arevisible from the outside, and further the cost increases.

1. A base assembly comprising a base and a bracket mounted on said base,wherein said base comprises at least two L-shaped hook receivers and atleast one claw receiver, said bracket comprises at least two L-shapedhooks each having a shape corresponding to that of said hook receiverand at least one elastically deformable claw engageable with said clawreceiver, and when mounting said bracket on said base, positioning ofsaid bracket is carried out by engagement of said hooks with said hookreceivers and locking of said bracket is carried out by engagement ofsaid claw with said claw receiver.
 2. The base assembly according toclaim 1, wherein said claw receiver is formed between said hookreceivers and said claw is formed between said hooks.
 3. The baseassembly according to claim 1, wherein said hook receivers and saidhooks are formed into symmetrical shapes so that said bracket is broughtinto tight contact with said base when mounting said bracket on saidbase.
 4. The base assembly according to claim 1, wherein said claw has aprojection at its free end and said claw receiver is a hole.
 5. The baseassembly according to claim 1, wherein said hook receivers and said clawreceiver are formed so as to be located on a straight line and saidhooks and said claw are formed so as to be located on a straight line.6. The base assembly according to claim 1, wherein said base and saidbracket are each molded from a synthetic resin.
 7. The base assemblyaccording to claim 1, wherein said base comprises a bottom plate, saidbracket comprises a main plate portion placed perpendicular to saidbottom plate, said at least two L-shaped hook receivers and said atleast one claw receiver are provided at said bottom plate, and said atleast two L-shaped hooks and said at least one elastically deformableclaw are provided at an end face, facing said bottom plate, of said mainplate portion.
 8. The base assembly according to claim 7, wherein saidpositioning is carried out in a direction parallel to said bottom plateand said locking is carried out in a direction perpendicular to saidbottom plate.